The present invention relates to computer-readable media, such as computer disks. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for reducing use of data stored on non-original media.
Optical storage media has become the format of choice for publishers and developers of software programs, such as consumer entertainment programs, educational programs, reference and business application programs, movies, and the like. Additionally such media has been the format of choice for the music industry for the past twenty years.
Some of the commonly used optical-media formats presently include read-only formats such as CD-DA (digital audio compact disc), CD-ROM (CD-read-only memory), DVD (digital versatile disc or digital video disc) media, write-once read-many times (WORM) formats such as CD-R (CD-recordable), DVD-R/DVD+R (DVD-recordable). Some of the commonly used rewritable formats include magneto-optical (MO) discs, CD-RW (CD-rewriteable), DVDRAM (DVD-Random Access Media), DVD-RW, DVD+RW (DVD-re-recordable), phase-change optical discs, and the like.
Advantages to optical storage media, such as CDs and DVD includes the large data storage capacity as well as low manufacturing costs of such media. Disadvantages to optical storage media, however includes that data stored on the optical media can be easily “mirrored” onto non-original CDs or DVDs.
To attempt to address such disadvantages, many techniques have previously been tried to reduce non-original optical media having mirrored data and/or use of the data stored on original optical media. However, even commercially available solutions have proven to be vulnerable. As an example, in one scheme, almost all data is transferred from an original optical media (e.g. CD, DVD) to a computer hard drive. However, unless the original distribution media is not in the optical drive, the application will not run properly.
One simple technique used to bypass such a scheme has been via application patching and CD device emulation. As a result of this technique, the program executes properly, or is fully operational, even though the original distribution media is not present.
Another simple technique to bypass such a scheme has been to use a “raw” mode of writing, a feature present in many optical drives (e.g. CD recorders). With this mode, exact bit-for-bit reads from an original optical media and writes to another optical media can be made. The only limitation with this mode of writing is that the device must perform it in accordance with standard CD recording procedure, which strictly defines a size of blocks and margins of the data layout.
Accordingly, what is desired are methods and apparatus for reducing mirroring of data stored on original optical media, with reduced number of drawbacks described above.